His special ability should only be "Absolute Speed," which allows him to outpace his opponent completely. It shouldn't enable him to breach her blade domain. Could it be that "Absolute Speed" also has a function that hardens the body?
Incredible!
But in the heat of battle, there was no time for Kanata to ponder this.
Though she could hardly believe her eyes, Totokubara Kanata had no choice but to accept reality and react swiftly.
She needed to retract the scattered blade fragments and gather the remaining blades to shield herself.
"Diamond Storm" was her ultimate technique, rated as a terrifying B-Rank attack by the League. However, to execute this move, she needed to collect nearly half of her blades.
With those blades scattered over a thirty-meter radius, retrieving them quickly was impossible.
Ryoji charged into the blade domain from thirty meters away.
At his speed, he could cover that distance in no more than three seconds.
In this critical moment, she had to gather all the remaining blades around her to block his assault.
Otherwise, if a mage is cornered by a swordsman, it's game over.
"Let's settle this!" Totokubara Kanata thought resolutely.
Even though he had crossed the mountain of blades using some unknown method, she remained confident.
Her "Diamond Dust" was not only razor-sharp in attack but also nearly impenetrable in defense!
Totokubara Kanata's judgment was both swift and precise.
——Three seconds passed.
Ryoji finally breached the blade domain and raised his sword before her.
His expression was ferocious, his eyes wide with an intensity that suggested he was enduring unimaginable pain.
The usual calm and playful demeanor had vanished, replaced by a fierce determination as if he would do anything to win.
"——Flickering Light and Passing Shadows!"
In a heart-stopping instant, the two finally clashed.
Ryoji held his sword horizontally at his side, thrusting toward Kanata. Amidst the chaos of their movements, he unleashed the same technique that had once defeated Mikazuki.
At that moment, Totokubara Kanata's expression turned dazed.
She had undoubtedly fallen for the move, her consciousness momentarily clouded by the force of his strike.
Without hesitation, Ryoji thrust his sword forward.
This was a guaranteed kill!
After this strike, the sword tip should have mercilessly pierced her chest—that was how it was supposed to go.
"Clang——!"
The moment the sword tip lunged forward, it suddenly halted mid-air, unable to advance.
Upon closer inspection, a nearly transparent circular shield had materialized in front of Totokubara Kanata, glowing like starlight.
The shield appeared fragile as if it could be pierced easily, but it was formed from the majority of her remaining blades, infused with her B-Rank Magic Power, granting it a defensive strength of C-Rank.
The sword tip struck the center of the shield, producing a sharp metallic sound.
This meant Ryoji's strike had failed.
And not just that——
"Puchi!"
"Puchi!"
"Puchi!"
Suddenly, blood erupted.
On Ryoji's body, dense, honeycomb-like wounds appeared out of nowhere.
Shortly after, the flesh at the wounds burst open without warning, and a torrent of crimson blood surged from beneath his skin, nearly dyeing his entire body red and blurring his vision.
"Ah!"
The intense pain forced Ryoji to let out a muffled scream.
"...It seems it's already over."
Totokubara Kanata was momentarily stunned, then slowly came to a realization.
His body was covered in deep wounds, most of his skin shredded, as if he had endured a thousand cuts.
That was undoubtedly the result of being sliced by the blade fragments as he crossed the blade domain.
"Though I don't know what method you used to delay the onset of those wounds, it's clear you've reached your limit. If I'm not mistaken, you've exhausted your Magic Power, right?"
Totokubara Kanata continued to channel her Magic Power to sustain the shield.
But the fighting spirit had already faded from her eyes.
Victory and defeat were already decided.
A Blazer who has exhausted their Magic Power cannot even use their special ability. With just a sword, it was impossible to breach her Magic Power defense.
Not to mention, he looked utterly battered, his strength nearly drained by the pain.
"You ultimately couldn't overcome fate."
Totokubara Kanata's eyes dimmed slightly.
Inexplicably, even though she was on the verge of winning, a sense of loss welled up within her.
'Why?'
It was quite perplexing.
Perhaps, deep down, she had been faintly hoping for a different outcome.
"Oh no! Is this the end? Nangou Ryoji's all-out strike has been blocked! After crossing what seemed like an insurmountable mountain of blades, is he going to fall here?! Pull yourself together, this is far from over!"
"What will you do, Little Junior Brother..."
"That's right! Nangou, keep going!"
"You're almost there! I believe you won't lose!"
Not just the commentators, but even the audience began to cheer.
The sight of the underdog giving their all against the expert resonated with countless spectators.
Not to mention, the once-handsome youth, now bloodied in his mission for victory, looked tragic, like an angel with broken wings, making it all the more painful to see him falter.
"...You talk about destiny every time you open your mouth... it's really annoying."
"!"
Totokubara Kanata stared at Ryoji in surprise.
The youth, who should have been utterly defeated, even on the brink of unconsciousness from the pain, was now glaring at her with an impatient expression.
Those eyes, even stained red with blood, still sparkled like stars.
"That's right, I've already lost— anyone would think that..." Ryoji gritted his teeth, a reckless smile breaking across his face. "—But I had already foreseen this situation from the very beginning!"
This battle had played out countless times in Ryoji's mind.
No matter how he envisioned it, at his current level, after crossing the blade domain, he would inevitably exhaust his Magic Power, making it impossible to breach her Magic Power defense.
Their abilities were too mismatched, and injury was unavoidable.
So——
"Ah——!!"
Ryoji suddenly widened his eyes, dense blood vessels appearing in his irises.
At the same time, the intense pain coursing through his body became a source of strength, awakening untapped potential from within, drawing forth more power from the depths of his soul!
"This move is——!?"
Kurogane Ikki shot up from the audience, his face a mix of surprise and astonishment as he recognized Ryoji's incredible technique.
"He's actively destroying his survival instinct, squeezing out power from within that he originally couldn't access!"
That was right.
It had been over ten days since Ryoji had deciphered Kurogane Ikki's Ittou Shura.
In those ten days, Ryoji, with his exceptional control over his body, had mastered the technique of "actively destroying his survival instinct."
Without the special ability of "physical ability doubling," the potential he gained from this method wasn't as great as Kurogane Ikki's, which could reach dozens of times, but it was still about twice as much.
——But it was enough.
"At zero distance, there's no need to worry about insufficient power!"
Under Totokubara Kanata's astonished gaze, Ryoji revealed a fierce smile.
He released the hilt of his sword, shifting his grip to push, directing the sword tip, and then poured all the Magic Power he had squeezed from the depths of his soul into it——!
(End of Chapter)
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